Knee pads are as unpredictable as a Tinder date: the long-legged blonde with the sweet smile can be just the right girl or a psychopath. You can't see the inner values - neither those of the date nor those of the protector. That's why we subjected 16 knee protectors to the "psycho test" at TÜV Rheinland. In the laboratory, we looked for their weaknesses and put them to the test. We wanted to know: Which protector offers the best protection? The fact is: thanks to powerful chassis, we mountain bikers are travelling faster and faster through the terrain. More speed and constant dangers (rocks, trees, hard ground) - this has consequences: "The energy generated in mountain biking during a fall is comparable to that of motorbike riding," confirm the TÜV experts. We therefore tested the cushioning of the protectors in accordance with Euro standard 1621.1 for motorbike protectors. Although knee protectors for mountain biking do not have to pass the entire standard, there is a European directive for personal protective equipment (PPE 89/686/EEC), which in turn is based on the motorbike standard.
We tested these models - all the results are available as a PDF in the download area below:
- Alpinestars Alpes 2
- Alpinestars Paragon
- Amplify Cortex Polymer
- Bluegrass Wapiti
- Dakine Hellion
- Fox Launch D30 (FREERIDE tip)
- Fuse Echo 75 (FREERIDE tip)
- IXS Carve Evo
- Leatt 3DF Hybrid
- Leatt Airflex Pro (FREERIDE tip)
- O'Neal Sinner Kevlar
- Race Face Ambush
- Sixsixone Evo Knee II
- Seven Transition Wrap
- Sweet Protection Bearsuit Light
- TSG Tahoe D30
Downloads:
Dimitri Lehner
Editor
